In-device coexistence of wireless communication technologies

ABSTRACT

A communication device includes a first network interface configured to communicate in a first network according to a first communication protocol, and a second network interface configured to communicate in a second network according to a second communication protocol. The first communication protocol defines a periodically repeating frame. The communication device predicts one or more subframes in the frame in which a serving base station in the first network will not transmit to the communication device because of poor channel conditions using at least one of i) measured channel quality in the one or more subframes, and ii) instructions sent to the communication device regarding channel quality measurements that are to be reported. In response to predicting the one or more subframes, operation of the first network interface is suspended during those subframes, and operation of the second network interface is enabled during at least one of those subframes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/218,876, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,420,635, filed Mar. 18, 2014, entitled“In-Device Coexistence of Wireless Communication Technologies,” whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/802,901, filed Mar. 18, 2013, entitled “Puncture of InterferedSubframes to Facilitate IDC,” both disclosures of which are herebyexpressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and,more particularly, to techniques for enabling coexistent communicationsusing multiple wireless communication technologies within acommunication device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Wireless communication networks continue to increase in demand asconsumers flock toward mobile computing devices and as manufacturerscontinue to develop wireless devices with greater capabilities andfeatures. Numerous types of wireless networks and network protocolsexist. For example, cellular networks typically operate according to a3^(rd) Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) Standardcurrently under development. Wireless local area networks (WLAN)typically operate according to an Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11standard wireless protocol, first promulgated in 1999. These protocolsinclude IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, and 802.11 ac whichoperate at different spectrum bands and/or different multiplexing orspread spectrum schemes to deliver various bit rates to devices on awireless network. Any of these IEEE 802.11 networks are often referredto as WiFi networks.

Wireless communication devices often employ multiple communicationtechnologies that co-exist in the communication devices. For example, acommunication device may operate in a cellular network according to acellular network communication protocol, such as a 3GPP LTEcommunication protocol, and may also operate in a WLAN network accordingto a WLAN communication protocol, such as the IEEE 802.11n Standard orthe IEEE 802.11ac Standard. In some situations, concurrent operation ofmultiple systems operating according to different communicationprotocols within a device can cause interference between the multiplesystems. For example, when WLAN communication systems and 3GPP LTEcommunication systems coexist in sufficiently close proximity to oneanother within a communication device, transmissions of one system mayinterrupt, degrade, or otherwise interfere with reception by the othersystem. For example, when a 3GPP LTE transmitter is located in closeproximity to a WLAN receiver, transmit power emanating from the 3GPP LTEtransmitter may desensitize and possibly saturate the WLAN receiver suchthat, during the 3GPP transmission, a data packet being sent to the WLANreceiver by a WLAN access point, for example, either may not be receivedproperly by the WLAN receiver or may even not be received at all.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In an embodiment, in a method of operating a communication device thatcomprises at least (i) a first network interface configured tocommunicate in a first network according to a first communicationprotocol with a serving base station, and (ii) a second networkinterface configured to communicate in a second network according to asecond communication protocol, the method includes: operating the firstnetwork interface according to the first communication protocol, whereinthe first communication protocol defines a periodically repeating frameincluding a set of subframes; and predicting, at the communicationdevice, one or more subframes, among the set of subframes, in which theserving base station will not transmit to the communication devicebecause of relatively poor channel conditions, when the communicationdevice does not yet know whether the serving base station will transmitdata to the communication device during any of the one or moresubframes, wherein predicting the one or more subframes includes usingat least one of i) measured channel quality in the one or moresubframes, and ii) instructions from the serving base station regardingchannel quality measurements in particular subframes that are to bereported by the communication device. The method also includes, inresponse to predicting, at the communication device, the one or moresubframes when the communication device does not yet know whether theserving base station will transmit data to the communication deviceduring any of the one or more subframes, suspending operation of thefirst network interface according to the first communication protocolduring the one or more subframes, and enabling operation of the secondnetwork interface according to the second communication protocol duringat least one of the one or more subframes.

In another embodiment, an apparatus comprises a communication devicehaving (i) a first network interface device configured to communicate ina first network according to a first communication protocol with aserving base station, and (ii) a second network interface deviceconfigured to communicate in a second network according to a secondcommunication protocol. The communication device is configured to:operate the first network interface device according to the firstcommunication protocol, wherein the first communication protocol definesa periodically repeating frame including a set of subframes, and predictone or more subframes, among the set of subframes, in which the servingbase station will not transmit to the communication device because ofrelatively poor channel conditions, when the communication device doesnot yet know whether the serving base station will transmit data to thecommunication device during any of the one or more subframes, whereinpredicting the one or more subframes includes using at least one of i)measured channel quality in the one or more subframes, and ii)instructions from the serving base station regarding channel qualitymeasurements in particular subframes that are to be reported by thecommunication device. The communication device is further configured to:in response to predicting the one or more subframes when thecommunication device does not yet know whether the serving base stationwill transmit data to the communication device during any of the one ormore subframes, suspend operation of the first network interface deviceaccording to the first communication protocol during the one or moresubframes, and enable operation of the second network interface deviceaccording to the second communication protocol during at least one ofthe one or more subframes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication network that utilizesin-device interference mitigation techniques of the present disclosure,according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of acommunication device configured to operate using at least two differentcommunication technologies that coexist within the communication device,according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example frame, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example method of operating acommunication device configured to utilize multiple wirelesscommunication technologies, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication network 100 that utilizesin-device interference mitigation techniques of the present disclosure,according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the network 100 includes aplurality of cells served by respective base stations 102 (the cells arenot depicted in FIG. 1 to avoid obscuring the figure). In an embodiment,each of the base stations 102 acts as a serving base station for one ormore user devices 104 that are within the cell served by the basestation 102. For example, the base station 102-1 is a serving basestation for user devices 104-1 and 104-2, the base station 102-2 is aserving base station for a user device 104-3, and the base station 102-3is a serving base station for a user device 104-4, in the illustratedembodiment. Although three base stations 102 are illustrated in FIG. 1for clarity, the network 100 includes other suitable numbers of basestations 102, and each of the base stations 102 serves any suitablenumbers of user devices 104, in various embodiments and/or scenarios.

Each of the base stations 102 and each of the user devices 104 isconfigured to operate according to at least a first communicationprotocol, in an embodiment. In an embodiment, at least one of the userdevices 104 (e.g., the user device 104-1) is also configured to operateaccording to at least a second communication protocol. As illustrated inFIG. 1, the communication device 104-1 includes a first networkinterface 106 configured to operate according to the first communicationprotocol and a second network interface 108 configured to operateaccording to the second communication protocol, in the illustratedembodiment. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the first communicationprotocol is a cellular network communication protocol, such as a 3^(rd)Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE)communication protocol, and the second communication protocol is a WiFicommunication protocol, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN)communication protocol (e.g., the IEEE 802.11n or the IEEE 802.11acprotocol). The network device 104-1 communicates with the base station102-1 via the first network interface 106, and communicates with a WLANaccess point (AP) 110 via the second network interface 108, in theillustrated embodiment. In other embodiments, the first communicationprotocol and/or the second communication protocol is another suitablecommunication protocol, such as a Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMax) communication protocol, a Bluetoothcommunication protocol, a global system positioning (GPS) communicationprotocol etc. As an example, the user device 104-1 communicates with aBluetooth device, such as a wireless headset, via the second networkinterface 108, in one such embodiment.

In an embodiment, the first communication protocol and the secondcommunication protocol define operation in one or more overlapping orclosely spaced frequency bands. Concurrent operation of the firstnetwork interface 106 and the second network interface 108, at least insuch frequency bands, can result in interference between transmissionand reception by the first network interface 106 and the second networkinterface 108 (“in-device interference”), for example when one of thenetwork interfaces 106, 108 is transmitting while the other one of thenetwork interfaces 106, 108 is receiving. As an example, wherein thefirst communication protocol is a 3GPP LTE communication protocol andthe second communication protocol is a WLAN communication protocol,operation of the first network interface 106 in the LTE time-divisionduplex (TDD) Band 40 (2300 MHz to 2400 MHz) may interfere withconcurrent operation of the second network interface 108 in the 2400MHz-2480 MHz WLAN band. As another example, operation of the firstnetwork interface 106 in the LTE TDD Band 41 (2496 MHz to 2690 MHz) mayinterfere with concurrent operation of the second network interface 108in the 2400 MHz-2480 MHz WLAN band. As yet another example, uplinktransmissions of the first network interface 106 in LTEfrequency-division duplex (FDD) Band 7 (2500 MHz to 2700 MHz) mayinterfere with concurrent operation of the second network interface 108in the 2400 MHz-2480 MHz WLAN band at least with respect to uplink LTEtransmissions, in an embodiment.

In an embodiment, the first communication protocol defines aperiodically repeating set of time intervals for schedulingcommunication between base stations and user devices. In an embodiment,base stations 102 use the time intervals to schedule communication withthe user devices 104 served by the base stations 102. In an embodiment,the base station 102-1 schedules communication between the base station102-1 and the user devices 104-1, 104-2 within the periodicallyrepeating set of time intervals. For example, the base station 102-1schedules communication between the base station 102-1 and the userdevice 104-1 within one or more, but not all, of the time intervals, inan embodiment. Similarly, the base station 102-1 schedules communicationbetween the base station 102-1 and the user device 104-2 within one ormore, but not all, of the time intervals, in an embodiment. In someembodiments, the first communication protocol utilizes orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM). In some embodiments, each of thetime intervals in the periodically repeating set of time intervalsincludes one or more resource elements, where each resource elementcorresponds to a particular OFDM symbol and a particular frequencysubcarrier or set of subcarriers within the OFDM symbol. In anembodiment, the base station 102-1 schedules communication between thebase station 102-1 and the user devices 104-1, 104-2 by defining aperiodically repeating set of time intervals, each time intervalincluding one or more resource blocks, and then communicates with theuser devices 104-1, 104-2 using allocated time intervals, within theperiodically repeating set of time intervals, for communication with theuser device 104-1, 104-2.

In an embodiment, the base stations 102-1 defines the periodicallyrepeating set of time intervals for the user devices 104-1, 104-2 based,at least in part, on quality of the communication channel between thebase station 102-1 and the user devices 104-1, 104-2 during the timeintervals. For example, each of the user devices 104-1, 104-2 measureschannel quality of the communication channel between the user device104-1, 104-2 and the base station 102-1 during some or all of the timeintervals, and reports the measured channel quality via feedback to thebase station 102-1. In an embodiment, channel quality between the basestation 102-1 and the user devices 104-1, 104-2 varies between thedifferent time intervals in the set of time intervals. For example,channel quality of the communication channel between the user device104-1 and the base station 102-1 during a particular time intervaldepends on the level of interference experienced by the user device104-1 from other radio sources, such as neighboring base stations 102-2,102-3 and/or neighboring user devices 104-3, 104-4 that operate inneighboring cells during the time intervals, in at least someembodiments. In other words, channel quality between the user device104-1 and the base station 102-1 during a particular time intervaldepends, at least in part, on activity of other radio sources, in thevicinity of the user device 104-1, during the time interval, in anembodiment.

In an embodiment, the base station 102-1 receives, from each of the userdevices 104-1, 104-2, information regarding channel quality of therespective communication channel between the base station 102-1 and eachof the user devices 104-1, 104-2, and schedules communication with eachof the user devices 104-1, 104-2 based at least in part on the channelquality information received from both of the user devices 104-1, 104-2.While the base station 102-1 bases scheduling decisions for a particularuser device 104-1, 104-2 based on channel quality information receivedfrom both of the user devices 104-1, 1-4-2 served by the base station102-1, the base station 102-1 is less likely to schedule communicationbetween the base station 102-1 and a particular user device 104-1, 104-2during a time interval of poor channel quality between the base station102-1 and the particular user device 104-1, 104-2 and/or high levels ofinterference experienced by the particular user device 104-1, 104-2, inan embodiment.

In an embodiment, the user device 104-1 determines a set of one or moretime intervals during which to at least suspend operation of the firstnetwork interface 106 and to enable operation of the second networkinterface 108 by selecting one or more time intervals, from set ofperiodically repeating time intervals defined by the first communicationprotocol, based a suitable selection criteria. In an embodiment, theselection criteria is based on channel quality of a communicationchannel between the user device 104-1 and the base station 102-1 and/orbased on level of interference experienced by the first networkinterface 106, in an embodiment. For example, the user device 104-1identifies one or more time intervals, from set of periodicallyrepeating time intervals defined by the first communication protocol,that meet the selection criteria, and selects the one or more timeintervals during which to suspend operation of the first networkinterface 106 by selecting some or all of the identified set of timeintervals.

In an embodiment, the user device 104-1 obtains channel qualityinformation, such as information indicative of level of interferenceexperienced by the first network interface 106 of the user device 104-1during one or more of the time intervals used for scheduling by the basestation 102-1, and uses this channel quality information to allocatedifferent ones of the time intervals, defined by the first communicationprotocol, for operation of the user device 104-1 according to the firstcommunication protocol and the second communication protocol. Forexample, the user device 104-1 allocates time intervals corresponding torelatively good channel quality between the user device 104-1 and thebase station 102-1 for operation of the first network interface 106according to the first communication protocol, and allocates timeintervals corresponding to relatively poor channel quality between theuser device 104-1 and the base station 102-1 for operation of the secondnetwork interface 106 according to the second communication protocol, inan embodiment. For example, in an embodiment, during time intervalscorresponding to relatively poor channel quality between the user device104-1 and the base station 102-1, the communication device 104-1 atleast substantially suspends operation of the first network interface106 according to the first communication protocol, and enables operationof the second network interface 108 according to the secondcommunication protocol, in an embodiment. In an embodiment, allocatingdifferent ones of the time intervals for operation according to thefirst and the second communication protocols eliminates interferencethat may be caused by concurrent operation of the user device 104-1according to the first and the second communication protocols. Further,because the base station 102-1 is unlikely to schedule communicationbetween the base station 102-1 and the user device 104-1 during the timeintervals of relatively poor channel quality between the base station102-1 and the user device 104-1, suspending operation of the firstnetwork interface 106 during the time intervals of relatively poorchannel quality minimizes or eliminates loss of throughput caused bysuspending operation of the first network interface 106, in at leastsome embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of acommunication device 200 configured to operate using at least twodifferent communication technologies that coexist within thecommunication device 200, according to an embodiment. The communicationdevice 200 includes a first network interface 202 configured to operateaccording to a first communication protocol and a second networkinterface 208 configured to operate according to a second communicationprotocol, in an embodiment. In an embodiment, the communication device200 is used in the network 100 of FIG. 1. For example, in an embodiment,the communication device 200 corresponds to the communication device104-1 of FIG. 1. The network interface 202 corresponds to the networkinterface 106 of the user device 104-1, and the network interface 208corresponds to the network interface 108 in FIG. 1, in this embodiment.In other embodiments, the communication device 200 is used in networksother than the example network 100 of FIG. 1. Similarly, communicationdevices configured to operate using at least two different communicationtechnologies other than the communication device 200 are used in thenetwork 100, in other embodiments.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, the first network interface 202 ofthe communication device 200 includes a physical layer (PHY) processingunit 204 and a medium access control (MAC) processing unit 206. The PHYprocessing unit 204 and the MAC processing unit 206 are configured tooperate according to the first communication protocol. In an embodiment,the first communication protocol is a 3GPP LTE communication protocol.The PHY processing unit 204 is configured to transmit and receive dataunits configured according to the 3GPP LTE communication protocol, inthis embodiment. The MAC processing unit 206 is configured to performmedium access control functions according to the 3GPP LTE communicationprotocol, in this embodiment.

The second network interface 208 of the communication device 200includes a PHY processing unit 210 and a MAC processing unit 212. ThePHY processing unit 210 and the MAC processing unit 212 are configuredto operate according to the second communication protocol. In anembodiment, the second communication protocol is a WLAN communicationprotocol. The PHY processing unit 210 is configured to transmit andreceive data units configured according to the WLAN communicationprotocol, in this embodiment. The MAC processing unit 212 is configuredto perform medium access control functions according to the WLANcommunication protocol, in this embodiment.

The communication device 200 includes an interface controller 214coupled to the first network interface 202 and to the second networkinterface 208. The interface controller 214 is configured to controloperation of the first network interface 202 and the second networkinterface 208 and to provide interference mitigation between the firstnetwork interface 202 and the second network interface 208, in anembodiment. For example, the controller 214 is configured to at leastpartially implement techniques described below to determine a set of oneor more time intervals during which to suspend operation of the firstnetwork interface 202 and to enable operation of the second networkinterface 208, in an embodiment. Although the interface controller 214is illustrated in FIG. 2 as being a component separate from the firstnetwork interface 202 and the second network interface 208,functionality of the interface controller 214 is at least partiallyincluded in the network interface 202 and/or in the network interface208, in some embodiments.

The communication device 200 includes, or is coupled to, a plurality ofantennas 216. Although three antennas 216 are shown in FIG. 2, thecommunication device 200 includes, or is coupled to, other suitablenumbers of antennas 216 (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, etc.), in otherembodiments. Each of the network interfaces 202, 208 is coupled torespective one or more antennas 216, in an embodiment. In anotherembodiment, one or more antennas 216 are coupled to each one of thenetwork interfaces 202, 208 and are shared by the interfaces 202, 208.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example frame 300 structured according to thefirst communication protocol, according to an embodiment. The frame 300includes a plurality of time intervals, or subframes, 304. In theembodiment of FIG. 3, the frame 300 is a 10 ms frame that includes ten1-ms time intervals, or subframes, 304-1 to 304-9 (indicated in FIG. 3as subframe 0 through subframe 9). The frame 300 includes anothersuitable numbers of time intervals fewer than or more than ten timeintervals, in other embodiments. In an embodiment, the base station102-1 determines a scheduling pattern for the user device 104-1 byscheduling communication with the user device 104-1 in one or more ofthe subframes 304 within the frame 300. The scheduling pattern definedby the base station 102-1 for the frame 300 persists for a certainnumber of frames that follow the frame 300, in an embodiment.Accordingly, the scheduling pattern defined for the frame 300 defines arepeating set of time intervals, or subframes, 304 that repeats with aperiod equal to the length of the frame 300 (e.g., repeats every 10 ms),in this embodiment. The first communication protocol defines suitabletime intervals other than the example time intervals 304, and the basestation 102-1 utilizes the other suitable time intervals other than theexample time intervals 304 to define a scheduling pattern forcommunication with the user device 104-1, in some embodiments.

In an embodiment, the base station 102-1 schedules communication withthe user device 104-1 by scheduling downlink transmissions to the userdevice 104-1 and/or uplink transmissions from the user device 104-1within certain ones of the subframes 304. Accordingly, in an embodiment,one or more of the subframes 304 are scheduled for communication withthe user device 104-1 and may include data for the user device 104-1and/or may allow transmission of data by the user device 104-1, whilethe remaining one or more subframes 304 are not scheduled forcommunication with the user device 104-1 and, accordingly, do notinclude data for the user device 104-1 and do not allow transmissions bythe user device 104. In an embodiment, the base station 102-1 determinesthe scheduling pattern for the user device 104-1 based on variousinformation regarding quality of the communication channel between thebase station 102-1 and the user device 104-1 and/or levels ofinterference experienced by the network interface 106 of the user device104-1 from other radio sources in the vicinity of the user device 104-1during different subframes 304. For example, the base station 102-1 isunlikely to schedule, for communication with the user device 104-1,those subframe 304 that correspond to time intervals of relatively lowchannel quality between the base station 102-1 and the user device 104-1and/or relatively high levels of interference experienced by the networkinterface 106 of the user device 104-1, in an embodiment.

In an embodiment, the user device 104-1 is configured to determine a setof one or more subframes 304 during which to at least substantiallysuspend operation of the first network interface 106 according to thefirst communication protocol and to enable operation of the secondnetwork interface 108 to allow operation of the user device 104-1according to the second communication protocol. In effect, the userdevice 104-1 is configured to “puncture” the determined set of one ormore subframes 304 with respect to operation of the user device 104-1according to the first communication protocol, in this embodiment. In anembodiment, the user device 104-1 selects one or more subframes 304 thatcorrespond to time intervals of relatively low channel quality betweenthe base station 102-1 and the user device 104-1 and/or high levels ofinterference experienced by the network interface 106 of the user device104-1 as the set of one or more subframes 304 to be punctured withrespect to operation of the first network interface 106.

In an embodiment, the base station 102-1 does not, in advance, notifythe user device 104-1 of which ones of the subframes 304 are, or arenot, scheduled for communication with the user device 104-1.Accordingly, the user device 104-1 does not know whether a particularsubframe 304 includes data for the user device 104 and/or allowstransmission by the user device 104-1 prior having received at least aportion of the particular subframe 304, in this embodiment. For example,in an embodiment, the base station 102-1 transmits an indication ofwhether a particular subframe 304 includes data for the user device104-1 in a beginning portion of the subframe 304. Thus, the user device104-1 is configured to receive and process at least the beginningportion of each of the subframes 304 to determine whether or thesubframe 304 includes data for the user device 104-1, in an embodiment.In another embodiment, however, the base station 102-1 notifies the userdevice 104-1 of which ones of the subframes 304 are not scheduled forcommunication device 104-1 after a period of negotiation with the userdevice 104-1 during which the base station 102-1 negotiates a schedulingpattern with the user device 104-1.

In an embodiment, the user device 104-1 at least substantially suspendsoperation of the first network interface 106 for the entire duration ofeach subframe 304 in the set of subframes 304 punctured with respect tooperation of the user device 104-1 according to the first communicationprotocol. Thus, the user device 104-1 does not receive even thebeginning portions of these punctured subframes 304 and does not knowwhether or not the punctured subframes 304 include data for the userdevice 104-1, at least during the time period in which the schedulingpattern is being negotiated between the base station 102-1 and the userdevice 104-1, in this embodiment. However, because the base station102-1 is unlikely to schedule these punctured subframes 304 forcommunication with the user device 104-1, selecting these subframes 304as the set of subframes during which to suspend operation of the firstnetwork interface 106 minimizes or eliminates loss of throughput in thefirst network interface 106, in at least some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the user device 104-1 is configured to performvarious channel measurements related to network management functionsdefined by the first communication protocol, and to determine the set ofone or more subframes 304 to be punctured with respect to operation ofthe user device 104-1 according to the first communication protocol atleast partially based on such network management related channelmeasurements. For example, in an embodiment, the user device 104-1 isconfigured to perform various network coordination measurements, such asradio resource management (RRM) measurements and/or radio linkmanagement (RLM) measurements defined by the first communicationprotocol. For example, the user device 104-1 performs an RRM measurementin which the user device 104-1 measures power level and/or signalquality of a user specific reference signal transmitted to the userdevice 104-1 from the base station 102-1, in an embodiment and/orscenario. In another embodiment and/or scenario, the user device 104-1performs a RLM measurement in which the network interface 106 measurespower level and/or signal quality of a cell specific reference signaltransmitted by the base station 102-1.

In some embodiments, the user device 104-1 provides one or more of (i)measured user-specific reference signal power level, (ii) measured userspecific reference signal quality, (iii) measured cell specificreference signal power level, and (iv) measured cell specific referencesignal quality via feedback to the base station 102-1. Additionally oralternatively, the user device 104-1 determines channel stateinformation (CSI), such as channel state information, which may includemeasured signal to noise based on one or more reference signals (e.g.,pilot signals) received from the base station 102-1, in an embodiment.In some embodiments, the user device 104-1 provides channel stateinformation via feedback to the base station 102-1 in addition to orinstead of providing RRM and/or RLM measurements via feedback to thebase station 102-1. The base station 102-1 utilizes RRM and/or RLMand/or CSI feedback from the user device 104-1 for performing variousnetwork management functions, such as scheduling of resource elementsfor the user device 104-1, scheduling of resource elements for otheruser devices 104 served by the base station 102-1, facilitating intercell interference avoidance for the user devices 104 served by the basestation 102-1, initiating handover procedures for the user device 104-1,etc., in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the user device 104-1 utilizes the measured RRM,RLM and/or CSI information corresponding to some or all of the subframes304 to determine a set of one or more subframes 304 during which tosuspend operation of the first network interface 106 and to enableoperation of the second network interface 108 to allow the user device104-1 to operate according to the second communication protocol. Forexample, the user device 104-1 identifies a set of one or more subframes304 associated with poor channel quality according to the RRM, RLMand/or CSI measurements obtained by the network interface 106, in anembodiment. For example, the user device 104-1 identifies a set of oneor more subframes 304 for which the SNR, or the SINR, is below a certainthreshold. As another example, the user device 104-1 determines anaverage SNR, or an average SINR, over the subframes 304 during which thechannel quality measurements were taken, and identifies a set of one ormore subframes 304 for which the SNR, or the SINR, is lower than theaverage SNR, or average SINR by a certain amount, in another embodiment.In an embodiment, the user device 104-1 utilizes the identified set ofone or more subframes 304 as the set of set of one or more subframes 304during which to suspend operation of the first network interface 106 andto enable operation of the second network interface 108 to allow theuser device 104-1 to operate according to the second communicationprotocol.

In an embodiment, the user device 104-1 is configured to perform networkmanagement measurements, such as the RRM/RLM/CSI measurements discussedabove, in response to receiving a message, such as a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) message, from the base station 102-1. In an embodiment,the RRC message indicates to the user device 104-1 one or morerestricted measurement sets of subframes 304 used, for example, forenhanced inter cell interference coordination (eICIC) procedures definedby the first commutation protocol (e.g., as defined by the 3GPP Release10 and beyond communication protocols). In an embodiment, an RRC messagesent from the base station 102-1 to the user device 104-1 indicates aset of one or more subframes 304 during which various network managementmeasurements are to be performed by user device 104-1. For example, anRRC message indicates a subset of the subframes 304 during which theuser device 104-1 is to perform RRM and/or RLM measurements based onreference signals received by the user device 104-1 from the basestation 102-1. The subset of subframes during which the user device104-1 is to perform RRM and/or RLM measurements based on referencesignals received from the base station 102-1 corresponds to a subset ofsubframes 304 for which the base station 102-1 is likely to schedulecommunication with the user device 104-1, in an embodiment. Accordingly,the user device 104-1 selects the set of one or more subframes 304 to bepunctured with respect to operation of the user device 104-1 accordingto the first communication protocol from a set of subframes 304 thatexcludes the indicated subset of subframes 304, in an embodiment.

In another embodiment, an RRC message sent from the base station 102-1to the user device 104-1 indicates a subset of subframes 304 duringwhich the user device 104-1 is to perform RRM and/or RLM measurementsbased on reference signals transmitted by neighboring base stations,such as the base station 102-2 and/or the base station 102-3. In anembodiment, the subset of subframes 304 during which the user device104-1 is to perform RRM and/or RLM measurements based on referencesignals transmitted by neighboring base stations corresponds to a subsetof subframes 304 for which the base station 102-1 is not likely toschedule communication with the user device 104-1. For example, thesubset of subframes 304 during which the user device 104-1 is to performRRM and/or RLM measurements based on reference signals transmitted byneighboring base stations 102 corresponds to a subset of subframes 304during which the base station 102-1 expects the user device 104-1 toexperience relatively high levels of interference from the neighboringbase stations 102, in an embodiment. Accordingly, the user device 104-1selects the subset of subframes 304 during which the user device 104-1is to perform RRM and/or RLM measurements based on reference signalstransmitted by neighboring base stations 102 as the set of subframes 304to be punctured with respect to operation of the user device 104-1according to the first communication protocol, in an embodiment.

In yet another embodiment, an RRC message sent from the base station102-1 to the user device 104-1 indicates multiple subsets of subframes304 during which the user device 104-1 is to is to perform RRM and/orRLM measurements based on reference signals transmitted by neighboringbase stations, such as the base station 102-2 and/or the base station102-3. For example, the RRC message indicates a first subset of one ormore subframes 304 and a second subset of one or more subframes 304during which the user device 104-1 is to perform RRM and/or RLMmeasurements based on reference signals transmitted by neighboring basestations, in an embodiment. In this case, the user device 104-1 performsthe RRM and/or RLM measurements during the subframes 304 in the firstsubset of one or more subframes 304 to obtain a first channel measure,and performs the RRM and/or RLM measurements during the subframes 304 inthe second subset of one or more subframes 304 to obtain a secondchannel measure. The user device 104-1 then compares the first channelmeasure and the second channel measure, and, based on the comparison,selects either the first subset of one or more subframes 304 or thesecond subset of one or more subframes 304 as the set of subframes 304to be punctured with respect to operation of the user device 104-1according to the first communication protocol, in an embodiment. Forexample, the user device 104-1 selects the first subset of one or moresubframes 304 when the first channel measure indicates a relativelyhigher level of interference experienced by the network interface 106,and selects the second subset of one or more subframes 304 when thesecond channel measure indicates a relatively higher level ofinterference experienced by the network interface 106, in an embodiment.

In some embodiments, the user device 104-1 performs channel measurementsindependent of any specific measurements, such as network managementrelated measurements, defined the first communication protocol and/orperforms channel measurements independent of any specific instructionsreceived from the base station 102-1. For example, the user device 104-1measures the communication channel between the user device 104-1 and thebase station 102-1 during each of some or all of the subframes 304 toobtain a measure of the channel during each of the some or all of thesubframes 304. The user device 104-1 then selects one or more subframes304 corresponding to relatively poor channel quality, such as one ormore subframes 304 associated with an estimated SNR, or estimated SINR,above a certain threshold, as the set of subframes to be punctured withrespect to operation of the user device 104-1 according to the firstcommunication protocol, in an embodiment. As another example, the userdevice 104-1 performs co-channel interference detection, using asuitable co-channel interference detection technique, to detectinterference cased, for example, by neighboring base stations 102 and/orneighboring user devices 104, in some or all of the subframes 304, in anembodiment. The user device 104-1 then selects one or more subframes 304corresponding to relatively high levels of detected interference as theset of subframes to be punctured with respect to operation of the userdevice 104-1 according to the first communication protocol, in anembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example method 400 of operating acommunication device configured to operate according to a firstcommunication protocol and a second communication protocol, according toan embodiment. With reference to FIG. 1, the method 400 is implementedby the user device 104-1, according to an embodiment. With reference toFIG. 2, the method 400 is implemented by the communication device 200,in an embodiment. For example, the method 400 is implemented at leastpartially by the controller 214 of the network device 200, in anembodiment. In other embodiments, the method 400 is implemented by othersuitable communication devices. For ease of explanation, the method 400is described below as being implemented by the communication device104-1 of FIG. 1.

At block 402, the communication device operates a first networkinterface according to the first communication protocol. For example, atblock 402, the user device 104-1 operates the first network interface104-1 according to the first communication protocol. In an embodiment,the first communication protocol is a 3GPP LTE communication protocol.In another embodiment, the first communication protocol is anothersuitable communication protocol. In an embodiment, the firstcommunication protocol defines a periodically repeating set of timeintervals for scheduling communication according to the firstcommunication protocol. In an embodiment, the time intervals correspondto subframes of a frame during which communication is scheduled for oneor more communication devices. For example, the time intervalscorrespond to the subframes 304 of FIG. 3, in an embodiment. In anotherembodiment, the other suitable periodically repeating time intervals areused.

At block 404, the communication device determines one or more timeintervals that meet a selection criteria based on a level ofinterference experienced by the first network interface. The selectioncriteria is based, for example, on measured channel quality, of thecommunication channel between the communication devices and a basestation that serves the communication device, during some or all of thetime intervals, in an embodiment. In another embodiment, the selectioncriteria is based on measured interference level experienced by thefirst network interface during some or all of the time intervals. In anembodiment, the selection criteria is based on a message, such as aradio resource control (RRC) message, received form a base station thatserves the communication device. For example, the message indicates oneor more subsets of the time intervals, and the communication deviceselects the one or more time intervals based on whether or not the oneor more time intervals are included in the one or more indicated subsetsof the time intervals. In another embodiment, the one or more timeintervals are determined without any specific input from a base station.

At block 406, during the one or more time intervals determined at block404, the communication device suspends operation of the first networkinterface according to the first communication protocol and enablesoperation of a second network interface according to the secondcommunication protocol. For example, at block 406, the user device 104-1suspends operation of the first network interface 106 according to thefirst communication protocol, and enables operation of the secondnetwork interface 108 according to the second communication protocol. Inan embodiment, the second communication protocol is one of a WLANcommunication protocol, a Bluetooth communication protocol, GPScommunication protocol. In another embodiment, the second communicationprotocol is another suitable communication protocol. In an embodiment, abase station that operates according to the first communication protocolis unlikely to schedule communication for the communication deviceduring the time intervals of high interference experienced by the firstnetwork interface of the communication device. Accordingly, suspendingoperation of the first network interface during the one or more timeintervals determined at block 404 minimizes or eliminates loss ofthroughput caused by suspending operation of the first networkinterface, in at least some embodiments.

In an embodiment, a method of operating a communication device thatincludes at least (i) a first network interface configured to operateaccording to a first communication protocol and (ii) a second networkinterface configured to operate according to a second communicationprotocol. The method includes operating the first communicationinterface according to the first communication protocol, wherein thefirst communication protocol defines a periodically repeating set oftime intervals. The method also includes determining one or more timeintervals, from the set of time intervals, that meet a selectioncriteria, wherein the selection criteria is based on level ofinterference experienced by the first network interface. The methodadditionally includes, during the determined one or more time intervals,suspending operation of the first network interface according to thefirst communication protocol, and enabling operation of the secondnetwork interface according to the second communication protocol.

In other embodiments, the method includes any combination of one or moreof the following features.

The first communication protocol is a 3^(rd) Partnership Project LongTerm Evolution (3GPP LTE) protocol.

The second communication protocol is one of a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) communication protocol, a Bluetooth communicationprotocol, or a global positioning system (GPS) communication protocol.

The communication device is served by a serving base station, andwherein the selection criteria is based on level of interference thatthe first network interface experiences as a result of transmissions byone or more neighboring base stations.

Determining the one or more time intervals comprises performing channelmeasurements during one or more of the plurality of time intervals toidentify a subset of time intervals, of the plurality of time intervals,that correspond to low channel quality of a communication channelbetween the communication device and a serving base station, andselecting the one or more time intervals from the identified subset timeintervals.

Performing channel measurements during the one or more time intervalsincludes performing one or more of i) a signal to noise ratio (SNR)measurement based on a reference signal received from the serving basestation, and ii) signal and interference to noise ratio (SINR)measurement based on the reference signal received from the serving basestation.

Performing channel measurements during the one or more time intervalscomprises performing co-channel interference detection measurementsduring the one or more time intervals.

Determining the one or more time intervals comprises receiving, at thecommunication device from a serving base station, a radio resourcemanagement (RRM) message, wherein the RRM message indicates a subset ofthe plurality of time intervals during which the communication device isto measure a communication channel between the communication device andthe serving base station, and selecting the one or more time intervalsfrom the time intervals, of the plurality of time intervals, that areexcluded from the subset of time intervals.

Determining the one or more time intervals comprises receiving, at thecommunication device from a serving base station, a radio resourcemanagement (RRM) message, wherein the RRM message indicates a subset ofthe plurality of time intervals during which the communication device isto measure a communication channel between the communication device anda neighboring base station, and selecting the one or more time intervalsfrom the time intervals, of the plurality of time intervals, that areincluded in the subset of time intervals.

Determining the one or more time intervals comprises receiving, at thecommunication device from a serving base station, a radio resourcemanagement (RRM) message, wherein the RRM message indicates a firstsubset of time intervals of the plurality of time intervals and a secondsubset of time intervals of the plurality of time intervals, wherein thefirst subset and the second subset indicate respective subsets of timeintervals during which the communication device is to measure acommunication channel between the communication device and a neighboringbase station.

Determining the one or more time intervals further comprises performingchannel measurements during the first subset of time intervals todetermine a first channel measure corresponding to the first subset oftime intervals, and performing channel measurements during the secondrestricted set of time intervals to determine a second channel measurecorresponding to the second subset of time intervals.

Determining the one or more time intervals further comprises selectingthe first subset as the one or more time intervals if the first channelmeasure indicates worse channel quality compared to channel qualityindicated by the second channel measure, and selecting the second subsetas the one or more time intervals if the first channel measure indicatesworse channel quality compared to channel quality indicated by thesecond channel measure.

In another embodiment, an apparatus comprises a communication devicehaving (i) a first network interface configured to operate according toa first communication protocol and (ii) a second network interfaceconfigured to operate according to a second communication protocol. Thecommunication device is configured to operate the first communicationinterface according to the first communication protocol, wherein thefirst communication protocol defines a periodically repeating set oftime intervals. The communication device is also configured to determineone or more time intervals, from the set of time intervals, that meet acriterion for a high level of interference experienced by the firstnetwork interface. The communication is additionally configured to,during the determined one or more time intervals, suspend operation ofthe first network interface according to the first communicationprotocol, and enable operation of the second network interface accordingto the second communication protocol.

In other embodiment, the apparatus further comprises any combination ofone or more of the following features.

The first communication protocol is a 3^(rd) Partnership Project LongTerm Evolution (3GPP LTE) protocol.

The second communication protocol is one of a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) communication protocol, a Bluetooth communicationprotocol, or a global positioning system (GPS) communication protocol.

The communication device is served by a serving base station, andwherein the selection criteria is based on level of interference thatthe first network interface experiences as a result of transmissions byone or more neighboring base stations.

The communication device is further configured to perform channelmeasurements during one or more of the plurality of time intervals toidentify a subset of time intervals, of the plurality of time intervals,that correspond to low channel quality of a communication channelbetween the communication device and a serving base station, and selectthe one or more time intervals from the identified subset timeintervals.

The communication device is configured to perform channel measurementsduring the one or more time intervals by measuring one or more of i) asignal to noise ratio (SNR) based on a reference signal received fromthe serving base station, and ii) signal and interference to noise ratio(SINR) based on the reference signal received from the serving basestation.

The communication device is configured to perform channel measurementsduring the one or more time intervals by performing co-channelinterference detection measurements during the one or more timeintervals.

The communication device is further configured to receive, from aserving base station, a radio resource management (RRM) message, whereinthe RRM message indicates a subset of the plurality of time intervalsduring which the communication device is to measure a communicationchannel between the communication device and the serving base station,and determine the one or more time intervals by selecting the one ormore time intervals from the time intervals, of the plurality of timeintervals, that are excluded from the subset of time intervals.

The communication device is further configured to receive, from aserving base station, a radio resource management (RRM) message, whereinthe RRM message indicates a subset of the plurality of time intervalsduring which the communication device is to measure a communicationchannel between the communication device and a neighboring base station,and determine the one or more time intervals by selecting the one ormore time intervals from the time intervals, of the plurality of timeintervals, that are included in the subset of time intervals.

The communication device is further configured to receive, from aserving base station, a radio resource management (RRM) message, whereinthe RRM message indicates a first subset of time intervals of theplurality of time intervals and a second subset of time intervals of theplurality of time intervals, wherein the first subset and the secondsubset indicate respective subsets of time intervals during which thecommunication device is to measure a communication channel between thecommunication device and a neighboring base station.

The communication is further configured to perform channel measurementsduring the first subset of time intervals to determine a first channelmeasure corresponding to the first subset of time intervals, and performchannel measurements during the second restricted set of time intervalsto determine a second channel measure corresponding to the second subsetof time intervals.

The communication is further configured to select, as the determined oneor more time intervals, the first subset as the one or more timeintervals if the first channel measure indicates worse channel qualitycompared to channel quality indicated by the second channel measure, andselect, as the determined one or more time intervals, the second subsetas the one or more time intervals if the first channel measure indicatesworse channel quality compared to channel quality indicated by thesecond channel measure.

As described, the various techniques described above may be implementedin hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of hardware, firmware,and/or software. When implemented in software, the software may bestored in any computer readable memory such as on a magnetic disk, anoptical disk, or other storage medium, in a RAM or ROM or flash memoryof a computer, processor, integrated circuit, hard disk drive, opticaldisk drive, tape drive, etc. Likewise, the software may be delivered toa user or a system via any known or desired delivery method including,for example, on a computer readable disk or other transportable computerstorage mechanism or via communication media. Communication mediatypically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as acarrier wave or other transport mechanism. The term “modulated datasignal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics setor changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. Byway of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wiredmedia such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wirelessmedia such as acoustic, radio frequency, infrared and other wirelessmedia. Thus, the software may be delivered to a user or a system via acommunication channel such as a telephone line, a DSL line, a cabletelevision line, a wireless communication channel, the Internet, etc.(which are viewed as being the same as or interchangeable with providingsuch software via a transportable storage medium). When implemented inhardware, the hardware may comprise one or more of discrete components,an integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), etc.

While the present invention has been described with reference tospecific examples, which are intended to be illustrative only and not tobe limiting of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art that changes, additions or deletions in addition tothose explicitly described above may be made to the disclosedembodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a communication device thatincludes at least (i) a first network interface configured tocommunicate in a first network according to a first communicationprotocol with a serving base station, and (ii) a second networkinterface configured to communicate in a second network according to asecond communication protocol, the method comprising: operating thefirst network interface according to the first communication protocol,wherein the first communication protocol defines a periodicallyrepeating frame including a set of subframes; predicting, at thecommunication device, one or more subframes, among the set of subframes,in which the serving base station will not transmit to the communicationdevice because of relatively poor channel conditions, when thecommunication device does not yet know whether the serving base stationwill transmit data to the communication device during any of the one ormore subframes, wherein predicting the one or more subframes includesusing at least one of i) measured channel quality in the one or moresubframes, and ii) instructions from the serving base station regardingchannel quality measurements in particular subframes that are to bereported by the communication device; and in response to predicting, atthe communication device, the one or more subframes when thecommunication device does not yet know whether the serving base stationwill transmit data to the communication device during any of the one ormore subframes, suspending operation of the first network interfaceaccording to the first communication protocol during the one or moresubframes, and enabling operation of the second network interfaceaccording to the second communication protocol during at least one ofthe one or more subframes.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstcommunication protocol is a 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long TermEvolution (3GPP LTE) protocol.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thesecond communication protocol is one of a wireless local area network(WLAN) communication protocol, a Bluetooth communication protocol, or aglobal positioning system (GPS) communication protocol.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein: the one or more subframes are one or more firstsubframes; and predicting the one or more first subframes includesmeasuring a level of interference that the first network interfaceexperiences in one or more second subframes as a result of transmissionsby one or more neighboring base stations.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein: the one or more subframes are one or more first subframes; andpredicting the one or more first subframes comprises: performing channelmeasurements during one or more second subframes among the plurality ofsubframes to identify a subset of one or more candidate subframes, amongthe plurality of subframes, that correspond to relatively poor channelquality of a communication channel between the communication device andthe serving base station, and selecting the one or more first subframesfrom the identified subset of one or more candidate subframes.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein performing channel measurements during theone or more second subframes includes measuring at least one of i) asignal to noise ratio (SNR) based on a reference signal received fromthe serving base station, and ii) a signal and interference to noiseratio (SINR) based on the reference signal received from the servingbase station.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein performing channelmeasurements during the one or more second subframes comprisesperforming a co-channel interference detection measurement during theone or more second subframes.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinpredicting the one or more subframes comprises: receiving, at thecommunication device from the serving base station, a radio resourcemanagement (RRM) message, wherein the RRM message indicates a firstsubset of the plurality of subframes during which the communicationdevice is to make channel measurements corresponding to a communicationchannel between the communication device and the serving base station;determining a second subset of the plurality of subframes, the secondsubset of subframes corresponding to subframes that are excluded fromthe first subset of subframes; and selecting the one or more subframesfrom the second subset of subframes.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinpredicting the one or more subframes comprises: receiving, at thecommunication device from the serving base station, a radio resourcemanagement (RRM) message, wherein the RRM message indicates a subset ofthe plurality of subframes during which the communication device is tomake channel measurements corresponding to a communication channelbetween the communication device and a neighboring base station; andselecting the one or more subframes from the subset of subframes. 10.The method of claim 9, wherein: the subset of subframes comprises afirst subset of subframes and a second subset of subframes; the methodfurther comprises: performing channel measurements during the firstsubset of subframes to determine first channel measurementscorresponding to the first subset of subframes, and performing channelmeasurements during the second subset of subframes to determine a secondchannel measurements corresponding to the second subset of subframes;selecting the one or more subframes comprises: selecting the one or moresubframes from the first subset if the first channel measurements andthe second channel measurements indicate worse channel quality of thefirst subset as compared to channel quality of the second subset, andselecting the one or more subframes from the second subset if the firstchannel measurements and the second channel measurements indicate worsechannel quality of the second subset as compared to channel quality ofthe first subset.
 11. An apparatus, comprising a communication devicehaving (i) a first network interface device configured to communicate ina first network according to a first communication protocol with aserving base station, and (ii) a second network interface deviceconfigured to communicate in a second network according to a secondcommunication protocol, wherein the communication device is configuredto: operate the first network interface device according to the firstcommunication protocol, wherein the first communication protocol definesa periodically repeating frame including a set of subframes, predict oneor more subframes, among the set of subframes, in which the serving basestation will not transmit to the communication device because ofrelatively poor channel conditions, when the communication device doesnot yet know whether the serving base station will transmit data to thecommunication device during any of the one or more subframes, whereinpredicting the one or more subframes includes using at least one of i)measured channel quality in the one or more subframes, and ii)instructions from the serving base station regarding channel qualitymeasurements in particular subframes that are to be reported by thecommunication device, and in response to predicting the one or moresubframes when the communication device does not yet know whether theserving base station will transmit data to the communication deviceduring any of the one or more subframes, suspend operation of the firstnetwork interface device according to the first communication protocolduring the one or more subframes, and enable operation of the secondnetwork interface device according to the second communication protocolduring at least one of the one or more subframes.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the first communication protocol is a 3rd GenerationPartnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) protocol.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein the second communication protocol is oneof a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication protocol, aBluetooth communication protocol, or a global positioning system (GPS)communication protocol.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: the oneor more subframes are one or more first subframes; and the communicationdevice is configured to predict the one or more first subframes based onthe communication device measuring a level of interference that thefirst network interface device experiences in one or more secondsubframes as a result of transmissions by one or more neighboring basestations.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: the one or moresubframes are one or more first subframes; and the communication deviceis configured to predict the one or more first subframes at least by:performing channel measurements during one or more second subframesamong the plurality of subframes to identify a subset of one or morecandidate subframes, among the plurality of subframes, that correspondto relatively poor channel quality of a communication channel betweenthe communication device and the serving base station, and selecting theone or more first subframes from the identified subset of one or morecandidate subframes.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein thecommunication device is configured to perform channel measurementsduring the one or more second subframes by measuring at least one of i)a signal to noise ratio (SNR) based on a reference signal received fromthe serving base station, and ii) a signal and interference to noiseratio (SINR) based on the reference signal received from the servingbase station.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the communicationdevice is configured to perform channel measurements during the one ormore second subframes by performing a co-channel interference detectionmeasurement during the one or more second subframes.
 18. The apparatusof claim 11, wherein the communication device is further configured to:receiving, from the serving base station, a radio resource management(RRM) message, wherein the RRM message indicates a first subset of theplurality of subframes during which the communication device is to makechannel measurements corresponding to a communication channel betweenthe communication device and the serving base station; determine asecond subset of the plurality of subframes, the second subset ofsubframes corresponding to subframes that are excluded from the firstsubset of subframes; and select the one or more subframes from thesecond subset of subframes.
 19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein thecommunication device is further configured to: receive, from the servingbase station, a radio resource management (RRM) message, wherein the RRMmessage indicates a subset of the plurality of subframes during whichthe communication device is to make channel measurements correspondingto a communication channel between the communication device and aneighboring base station; and select the one or more subframes from thesubset of subframes.
 20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: the subsetof subframes comprises a first subset of subframes and a second subsetof subframes; the communication device is further configured to: performchannel measurements during the first subset of subframes to determinefirst channel measurements corresponding to the first subset ofsubframes, and perform channel measurements during the second subset ofsubframes to determine a second channel measurements corresponding tothe second subset of subframes; select the one or more subframes atleast by: selecting the one or more subframes from the first subset ifthe first channel measurements and the second channel measurementsindicate worse channel quality of the first subset as compared tochannel quality of the second subset, and selecting the one or moresubframes from the second subset if the first channel measurements andthe second channel measurements indicate worse channel quality of thesecond subset as compared to channel quality of the first subset.